Propane Nightmares
by 93BNMill
Summary: Again she drifted, floating in a myriad of colors in darkness and light. She exhaled, her pain departing on a single, weak breath. Then there was silence, a vast nothingness lacking space. Nothing but stars, the cosmos glowing and whirling without haste.
1. 28, June 2017

**Propane Nightmares**

* * *

 **Author's Note**

Some of you might have already read this, for the first time. Some of you may be rereading this. Whichever route you're taking, I want to welcome you to Propane Nightmares, a Harry Potter Fanfic where my MC is an _OC_. I haven't done this in a while, but I do have one hell of an idea in mind. This chapter is only the beginning of a long story, one where the OC's appearance _changes_ how things in the series.

As I just said, it's been a while since I've done anything in a fandom with a character of my own creation (where the MC's an OC). So this is something new for me.

This chapter has been revamped, given I hadn't liked what happened the last time around. I couldn't quite figure out where I wanted to go, so I redid it. It's largely the same, but there's more action. There's more movement. I like how this turned out and I do hope everyone who reads this will also like it. I'm enjoying where this going. I have ideas and thoughts and a general plan. So getting from Point A to Point B will certainily be one hell of a ride.

So, without further ado: Read, Enjoy, and _Review._

* * *

 **Chapter One**

* * *

Rain poured from the heavens, soaking anyone caught in its fury.

Nicki trudged through it, one arm wound around her middle as she staggered through the twisting alleyways. Her hair clung to her face and neck, her once-white camisole bleeding red. A trail of watery pink followed her, seemingly glowing with every intense, brilliant flash of lightning.

Slumping against a stone wall, she dragged in a ragged, uneven breath. She pressed against the weeping wound, almost screaming as pain seared through her body. Shoulders hunched, she forced in air through convulsing lungs. Somewhere in the distance, there was… _something_. Nicki looked up, her vision blurring as she pushed away from the wall. Cold and scared, she forced herself to take another step.

"Get that thing out of my face!"

Nicki staggered, ears ringing as the high-pitched voice carried through the rain.

She stumbled, hitting the ground as someone yelled, "I said _shut up_ , Dudley! And don't talk about Cedric!"

"What was he?" The other boy was laughing, now. Nicki picked herself off the ground, slipping in the pools of blood spilling across the ground. Her clothing, torn and tattered, clung to her skin as the speaker yelled, "Your _boyfriend?"_

 _"I said shut up!"_

She could see a distant light. Shapes were moving, blurring together as she made her way closer. Behind her was a trailing sense of desolation, of deathly cold. Nicki felt her eyes sting with tears, shuddering as she took another step. All around her was darkness, the lightning flashing in sharp bursts of light all around her. Before her, a shimmering portal of light.

Of release.

When she reached for it, fire consumed her and she screamed.

Exclamations cut through the air as arms caught her, her cheek pressing against a too-warm neck. Nicki grasped the shoulder of the person – _a boy,_ she realized as their chests pressed together as she slumped into his hold – holding her up with trembling, bloody hands. Nicki shuddered, eyes half-lidded as she inhaled a scent of pine and smoke.

"Oh _God!"_ Someone cried out. It wasn't the one holding her. Nicki's grasp weakened as the one holding her spat, "Dudley, _shut up!_ Merlin, we need help."

"She's bleeding!"

 _"I said shut up!"_

Coughing, fingers biting into a skinny shoulder, Nicki whispered, "Help me…"

Then there was an overwhelming sense of cold, of ice and depression and a loss of hope. From where she came, darkness pulsed. As her vision dimmed, she could see thousands of dark, fluttering shapes spiraling ever-closer. The one named Dudley went silent while the one she was leaning against sucked in a quick, sharp breath before he whispered, "Impossible…"

"What is that, Harry?"

Dudley's voice was a faint whisper, his words strained like he was having a hard time speaking. Nicki felt her body sinking, knees giving out as strong arms encircled her waist. As her head lulled, Harry hissed, "Nothing good, that's for sure! Come on, we can't stay here. Dudley, _come on!"_

The larger, pale-haired teen could only stare at the blood. Harry shot his cousin a harsh look, a sense of unease crawling through his skin as he adjusted the girl in his grasp. She was getting heavier, deadweight building as he took a step back. He could feel the coldness, flickers of green light flashing across his mind's eye, as he said, "Dudley, we gotta go _now!"_

He swung the girl up into his arms without missing a beat, ignoring the damp heat coating his shirt and skin. Dudley fled down the alleyway ahead of him, stumbling every few feet as the alley behind them grew darker and darker. The sky clouded over, the moon suddenly hidden behind a veil of silver and white. Fog rolled across the ground, their surroundings blurring like a vision hidden behind a veil of smoke. What little hope he had was draining, sucked from his body by invisible hooks.

Harry knew, then, that behind them were dementors.

Dudley led the way, turning this way and that. Harry hoped he knew where he was going. Behind them, the cold crept closer. Could they outrun a dementor? He doubted it, at this point. He and his cousin were running, fleeing through the alleyways with danger on their heel. Water splashed and rain poured, making it difficult to see where they were going. The dementors were flying after them, cloaks whirling around their bodies like puppets pulled through the air on strings.

When they reached another alleyway, a dementor dropped from the sky. Harry's heels bit into the ground, Dudley also coming to an abrupt halt as he stared at the dark-cloaked being. Yet this thing was different. It was covered in the same tattered clothing, hovering to-and-fro, yet its face was obscured by a mask of what appeared to be white _bone_. Harry felt his skin crawl as he saw what seemed to be blazing, silver-blue eyes peering out of the eyeholes as other, eyeless, masked dementors landed.

They were surrounded.

Harry swore. He twisted, ordering his cousin to take the girl. Dudley did so, dropping to the ground as his foot slid across the damp stones. Harry pulled out his wand, raising it so it pointed at the one with ice-cold eyes. Its gaze shifted from the girl to him, its form lowering until it touched the ground – even so, it towered over him. Harry stared, wide-eyed.

He didn't have time to scream or cry out a warning.

This silver-eyed dementor extended a hand and the rest swarmed. Harry didn't think. He swung his wand up in an arc as he yelled, _"Expectro Patronum!"_

His stag burst forth from the tip of his wand, galloping forth. Dementors scattered as it neared them, their dark forms fluttering up and away before looping back around to resume the onslaught. The stag circled, antlered head shaking to-and-fro in its run. Harry forced himself to relax, to calm down, as the stag pushed away the dark-natured creations.

The cold-eyed dementor slid out of its way as it charged, his silver-blue gaze tracking the ghostly, silvery creature's movements. Harry kept himself between the dementors and his cousin and the girl, shielding the two with wand, magic, and body. Part of him wondered if it was possible, to protect them, with the Dark creatures pressing upon them.

 _'Why are there dementors on Privet Drive?'_ Harry stepped back as the silver-eyed dementor made its way closer, ignoring the light-natured creature trying to force it away from the humans. It did not budge. A cold sweat coated Harry's skin, green eyes too bright. _'What is this thing? Dementors can't be near, not with my patronus out!'_

It didn't seem to matter, now.

The silver-eyed dementor slowed as the stag charged, antlered head down. The black-cloaked finger threw up an arm, dark energy radiating out of it and tossing the stag across the stones. It dissipated bit-by-bit, parts of it fading from view every time it struck the ground. Harry felt a panicked cry rise in his throat, his eyes unnaturally wide as he staggered away from this creature, from this _monster_ , that was steadily gaining ground.

"Harry!" His gaze snapped to the side, disbelief filling him as Mrs. Figg ran towards him. Several of her cats darted through the shadows, hissing and spitting as the dementors neared them. A young man was behind her, night clothes hanging loosely off his body as he flung up his own wand and summoned his patronus. A large, spiked lizard burst from the zip. "Harry, we must call for help. There's a spell. Daniela can keep the dementors at bay."

 _"His name's Daniela?"_

 _"That's not important!"_

Behind them, Dudley started babbling. Harry turned, green eyes wide as he saw the girl shift and heard her cough. Her eyes were beginning to flutter. He dropped to the ground next to her, tan hand pressing against her cheek as she stirred. Gunmetal-colored irises met Killing Curse green, confusion evident in her features as her lips parted.

She was trying to speak, but only blood oozed between pale lips. Mrs. Figg was kneeling down to them both in a heartbeat, bony hands prodding at the girl's body as she said, "Harry, you have to focus. We need to call for help. There's a spell I know that can help."

Harry stared at this old woman, choosing to ignore the felines rubbing against his legs as one headbutted his palm. He absently scratched it behind its ear as the girl's head lulled back, a film of gray beginning to cloud her eyes. Mrs. Figg smacked her cheeks, voice stern as she said, "Harry, child, _she needs help now._ Dudley, be a good lad and keep her propped up. Turn her – yes, like that. Now she won't chock on her own blood…"

This stranger, she was turned slightly onto her chest with her head pressed against his cousin's shoulder. Dudley was holding her up, pale as a new winter morning. Her body convulsed and blood splattered across the ground. As he rose to his feet, gaze shifting to the old woman, he said, "How do you know about magic, Mrs. Figg?"

"Because I'm a squib. Did no one tell you that?" Harry shook his head, mouth dry. She eyed him for a moment, expression unreadable. After a moment, she said, "The spell you want is _Vacato Guardiam._ The same feelings you use for your patronus will suffice. Aim at the sky and yell the incantation. Hurry, now!"

Harry's gaze shifted to the girl, body pale and loosing color. Red stained her mouth.

 _Vacato Guardiam._

The words echoed in his thoughts even as her eyes opened. He was lost in those eyes, sucked into a whirling vortex of pain and desperation and complete, utter confusion. He knew, then, that she needed their help. She needed _his_ help. He whirled around, gaze on the dementors and the silver-eyed creature and the wizard battering them away with a sweat-soaked face. Then he saw his friends, in his mind's eye.

He heard their laughter. He saw Hermione sitting at the library table, quill in hand and brow furrowed as she worked on an essay. Ron was at a chess table, chin resting on his knuckles as he eyed the board. Neville was working with the plants in the greenhouse, smiling shyly. Then there was his Godfather's laughter, Remus's smiling eyes, the picture book of his parents….

Harry raised the wand and, in one deafening roar, screamed, " _Vacato Guardiam!"_


	2. 26, September 2017

**Propane Nightmares**

* * *

 **Chapter Two**

* * *

She couldn't breathe, couldn't see, couldn't _feel_.

Nicki struggled against the cold, inflexible hold trapping her in the darkness. She flailed against its power, screaming as she thrashed in its cold, unfeeling hold. She clawed at her skin, at the black walls towering over her, collapsed onto her knees and cried. She beat her palms against the ground, screaming, enraged, as the dark walls encasing her shuddered and began to crack. She laughed, manically. Then she screamed.

"You can't keep me here!" She rose to her feet, howling in rage. _"Let me out!"_

When she tried to rise from the darkness, something shoved her back down.

She felt it crawling over her skin, a feeling like a veil of water passing over her body in gentle waves. It was all around her. It was _in_ her, nothing more than an unseen force trying to calm her mind and lull her into the dark. Energy, raw and beautiful and utterly unwelcome. She dug her fingers into her hair, nails biting into her scalp as she squatted with her buttocks resting on her heels.

The black walls, looming over her, were cracked with veins of white.

She eyed those marks through her bangs, watching as they shimmered and glowed. She sat up, head cocked to the side as she eyed the impossible barrier that composed her prison. Rising to her feet, arms limp at her sides, she stared. Her mind began to turn, thoughts whiling as ideas formed.

Cracks meant weakness. Could she get out if she broke through?

She stepped away from the small pool of light she had rested in, shuddering as waves of _cold_ slammed into her body. The wall seemed so much further, now. The light beckoned her back, called to her to step into its small, protective circle. Nicki looked over her shoulder, eyed the small sphere of light. Her gaze shifted to the wall, intimidating in its size and presence.

Nicki made her way towards the wall, arms coming up as gusts of icy wind slapped her in the face. She felt a pressure on her mind, a headache blooming as blood dribbled from her nose. She tasted iron on her lips, salty and hot. She brushed it away with the back of her hand, a red smear arcing across her cheek to her ear. When she reached the wall, she pressed her palms against it.

She might as well have touched an electric fence.

Thrown back from the wall, Nicki hit the ground and flipped. She laid on her side, convulsing as pain speared through her body. She gasped for breath, lungs burning as air evaded her. Somewhere in the distance, she heard shouting and indecipherable voices. Hacking and coughing, she grinned.

Nicki shuddered as waves of agony washed over her skin. She felt the pressure draped over her body increase, her vision blackening around the edges as the whisper of sleep called to her. She forced herself onto her hands and knees, head bowed as if someone was trying to push her back to the ground. An invisible force whispered to her, telling her to lie down and _sleep_.

Nicki rose onto her knees, jaw clenched.

She stood, knees shaking from the effort to rise as she breathlessly laughed. The pressure returned, a ton of weight layering upon her shoulders as she took the first step towards the wall. She shielded her face from the icy winds, squinting as she inched her way through the darkness towards the veins of silver lightning crackling along the barrier.

 _"She's waking up!" A woman was racing across the large room, red-stained robe fluttering around her as she moved. People were coming and going, shouting as they called for medicine and supplies. One of them held a long, jewel-encrusted stick. "Dr. Fennardo, she's waking up!"_

Nicki staggered, eyes wide as a hospital room emerged around her. It was cast in dull gray hues, a veil of fog covering it. It was almost like she was in a game, a cutscene opening around her in a dull, memory-like haze. She stumbled out of the way as another woman raced past her, a tray of _something_ floating behind her. Nicki stared. Was it…floating?

 _'Am I dead or do I have a concussion?'_ Nicki felt something wavering behind her. She turned, her gaze landing on the distant sphere of white light glowing in the darkness like a lighthouse cutting through the darkness of a hurricane. People rushed through her body, long stick waving through the air as they muttered strange words. In the middle of the huddle was a red-stained bed. _'Am I dead? Is this what all of this is? Have I died?'_

Behind her, something stirred and rose to tower over her. Nicki felt a sense of something, dark and angry and hungry. She turned, slowly. Beyond this area, out there in the darkness, the shadows were stirring. She could see it as it twisted and crawled, a massive force dragging itself closer to where her light was. When it passed over that sphere, the light vanished.

 _"Nicola,"_ a haunting voice whispered and hissed, each syllable of the name dragged out. Trapped inside this _other_ place, thick smoke whirling around her as men and women dressed in robes ran around, Nicki couldn't drag her eyes away from the force advancing. _"We see you, Nicola. We see you. We see you. We See You!"_

 _A nurse ran past her, their shoulders colliding. Nicki whipped around, tracking the woman as she ran across the room. Nicki chased after her, an overwhelming sense of cold creeping into the foggy hospital room. Behind her, a demonic, maniacal laugh. Nicki ran all the faster, easily slipping between the doctors and their nurses as the edges of the room vanished into a black void._

 _"Get a BRP!" A nurse vanished from sight seconds after the doctor issued the order. Nicki braced herself against the edge of a red-stained bed, feeling cold and lightheaded. Her gaze settled on the figure resting within the sheets with deathly white skin, her eyes widening as she eyed the pale, dying form lying there in complete stillness. Her skin crawled. Resting there, on that bed, was Nicki herself. Behind her, a doctor yelled, "We need an Energy Stabilizer! Where's the BRP?"_

 _Behind her, dark laughter. Nicki whipped around, pressed against the edge of the bed as she watched a large, humanoid shadow take a step from the veil of black that lined the edge of the room. It had no features, no face. Yet, somehow, she knew it was grinning. As it neared, its voice was a dark, sinister whisper, "Do you think you can_ escape _us, Nicola? We have hunted you, bled you, fed the taint within you. Now you seek to run? No. No. No, that won't do. Come, Nicola. Join with us…"_

 _A black, shadowy hand reached for her. Long, spindly fingers stretched, the tips pointed and dangerous. Behind her, a pulse of light. Nicki gasped as it seared through her, her knees giving out as she toppled to the side. The creature screamed, lunging forward as she turned midfall._

 _A pale hand hung limply from the bed, red dripping off pale fingers._

 _As the creature lunged, Nicki grasped that bleeding hand –_

Screams rent the air, loud and long. Too-warm hands pressed upon her chest, voices overlapping as pain cut through her throat. Nicki thrashed, kicking and screaming and clawing as _pain_ seared through her back and neck. One hand, holding a long, decorated stick, came too close. She knocked it away with a shriek, the stick flying across the room.

"Grab a Calming Draught! _Now!"_

Nicki kicked one body away from the bed before throwing herself to the ground. She hit the ground with enough force to send spasms through her limbs, the shock of the sudden assault leaving her a crying, panicking mess. She pushed herself off the ground, shouldering another body out of the way as someone tried to grab her.

 _"Don't touch me!"_

Nicki backed herself into the middle of the swaying, distorted room. It pulsed around her as if she was under the influence of a drug. She grabbed a scalpel from a nearby tray, holding it aloft between her and the blurry men and women around her. "Stay _away_ from me! Do you hear me? _Stay away!"_

"Ma'am," one white-laden body stepped away from the others, hands swiftly going up where she could see them (vaguely) the moment the knife was pointed at him. Something hot and wet glided across her skin, pooling around her feet as the room dropped to the side. Nicki staggered, one hand grasping the medical cart as the man said, "Ma'am, please, set aside the blade. We only want to _help_ you. We're doctors. We can make the pain go away."

Nicki laughed. It was a hysterical sound. "Make it go away? The pain I feel will _never_ leave me."

Her gaze flickered to one side of the room to the next, looking for any route that would lead to safety. Her head was ringing. Then, from the back of the room, she heard a new, yet familiar, voice cut through the hurricane of unwanted noises.

"Leave her alone!" A black-haired boy was pushing his way through, his _own_ stick in hand. He had it pointed at one of the doctors. That doctor, in question, quickly backed up. Nicki watched as he forced them back, his emerald eyes narrowed in what she thought to be rage. When his gaze shifted to her, his voice was softer, "It's okay, now. You're _okay_. Do you remember me?"

She did, somewhat. Nicki eyed the stick and then his face.

He grinned. He held up the stick so she could see it better. "This is a wand. I'm Harry, by the way? What's your name?"

"N-N-Nicola, I think," Nicki wetted her lips, watching as the stick - _wand,_ her mind supplied- gave off a soft, ghostly glow. She saw his lips move, heard noises and sounds. Then there was a massive, glowing stag in the room. It trotted to her side, head bowing so it could look her in the eyes. Nicki reached up, eyes wide and curious as pressed her palm to its forehead. "Though I like Nicki better."

"Nicki, then," Harry carefully made his way to her side. "Are you feeling better?"

Nicki's feet pressed a tad firmer against the ground. The world was tilting and whirling around her. Inside of her, her heart beat calmly. She flexed her hand, scalpel now set aside. She met this green-eyed boy's stare as she said, "Yes, I'm fine."

Then her gaze shifted to the doctors and the fair-haired boy making his way to their side. She looked towards the doctors, her cheeks flushing as her panic-induced attack sprang to the forefront of her mind. She eyed the closest doctor, voice even as she said, "And I apologize for my uncouth behavior. I panicked."

After that, the day passed in a blur. The doctors, _medics_ with magic, tended to her injuries. They asked dozens of questions, most which Nicki was unable to answer. Harry and the fair-haired boy, Harry's cousin Dudley, stayed by her side. Nurses brought her food and drinks. One took her to the bathroom, a tub full of steaming water waiting for her within. Nicki soaked and scrubbed until her skin was raw and angry, her mind whirling as she tried to understand what had happened.

 _'I can't remember anything,'_ the thought wasn't a comforting one. Nicki was dressing, a long robe sliding effortlessly over her damp skin, as she whispered, "I can't _remember._ Why can't I?"

Her answer, she suspected, resided in the hundreds of scars and intricate, tribal-like tattoos that decorated her skin. Most of the marks were a dull gray, each a shade darker than her skin. They were almost _easy_ to overlook. She poked and prodded at them, head tilted to the side as a sense of wonder filled her. Each mark left her fingers tingling. It was like there was an electric current humming _just_ underneath her skin.

The doctors didn't ask about them. Nicki dressed in a white robe meant for patients, long hair pulled up into a sloppy bun on the top of her head. The sleeves were wide and flowing, engulfing her arms with ease. Nicki walked the hallways, Harry and Dudley at her side. One question after another fell from her lips, curious to the world she had found herself in.

"You are a… _wizard,_ correct?"

"Yeah," Harry's gaze shifted to Dudley, who looked uncomfortable. Nicki eyed this blonde boy, head tilting to the side. Beside her (she was in the middle of the boys), Harry continued, "I go to a school called Hogwarts. That's where I'm learning to use magic. Dudley's a muggle."

"What's a muggle?"

"Someone who doesn't have magic," Harry held open a door for them. Nicki passed through silently, Dudley on her heels. Harry caught up with them in a matter of moments, hands stuffed in his pockets. She felt his stare even if she wasn't facing him. His voice was calm as he said, "It's a bit odd, yes. Took me a while to get used to it."

"You didn't grow up in a magical community, did you?" This time, Nicki did look at the dark-haired boy. Vibrant, glowing irises of the brightest green stared at her. Nicki tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, voice soft as she continued, "You don't hold yourself like the mages here, the ones who have been in this world for a long time. You're still learning where to put your feet."

It was something she knew she _should_ understand. If it wasn't for the veils of shadows in her head, the constant, drone-like growl cutting into the inside of her skull, Nicki was sure she would be better able to understand what was going on. Instead, she was stuck in a magical hospital with obvious gaps in her mind, holes that shouldn't be there. Her lips pressed into a tight line.

 _'Why can't I remember?'_

The question echoed, mocking her.

Nicki knew, in that moment, it was a question that would haunt her.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

This story has changed quite a bit from what I was intending it to be. I do like it better this way, however. This story is a bit odd for me, given the main character is an OC. I'm hesitant to use the term SI given I'm not inserting _myself_ into the story. When any new character is introduced, their presence should change how things happen in a world that didn't have them beforehand. The very fact Nicki showed up when the dementors were going after Harry and Dudley would change things because the events in that moment _didn't happen the same way_. So there's a change, there.

Perhaps I'm rambling. I do that.

However, I do hope everyone who's reading this does like what's here. It took me a long while to write down this chapter. I wrote it, erased and then _rewrote_ it until I decided 'this is fine.' I'm not overly joyful with it, because, frankly, I'm not all that fond of this chapter. I do like it more than the last ones. So I can be happy with that, I suppose. As things are, I can step back and reassure anyone reading this that I _am_ working on _'Blood of the Serpent.'_ I'm working on the Interlude. With that said, I think I can decide I'm _moderately_ happy with this and go on my way.

Thanks for reading and, as always, your thoughts about my writing means a great deal to me.

So, by all means, like the story. Follow the story. And, before any of you forget, _review_ the story!


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